dead yourself. i'm off track. it's coming to other cities so agree, zombies and mortals and bananas alike can get along and run as one on the redick lust. at 10:00 p.m. another edition of at 10:00 p.m. another edition of "360. -- captions by vitac -- www.vitac.com tonight, dangers from the deep. up close and personal with some of the world's most terrifying predators, sharks. >> the attack begins long before the bite happens. >> snieks. >> this, my friend, oh my goodness. >> oh my god. >> is one of the largest snakes in captivity. >> wow. >> i'd ask for help but i know i won't get it. >> no, no, no. >> sting ways, how is this for a set of teeth. man eating gators. >> i'm not touching anything. >> no? >> you're in charge. >> jeff brings them here. how many people are keeping them -- >> a lot of people keep them as

pets and they don't make good pets. they belong in the wild. >> no kidding. >> i know you're wondering, will i survive. find out in this edition of "sharks and reptiles." good evening. regular viewers of this show will know i'm not afraid to talk to anybody or take on anything. bring it on. i can handle it. well, tonight, i'm not feeling quite so confident. we have rather unusual guests, guests that scar the living daylights out of most people, sharks, pythons, alligators, the stuff of niepgt maghtmares but they fear us more than we fear them? joining me is a wildlife biologist and host of abc's ocean mysteries. jeff, welcome to you. >> thanks so much, piers. delighted. >> my experience with a shark, i was doing a small dive in barbados in the caribbean and a hammer head shark about 10 feet

long just patrolled past us, and it was utterly terrifying. that's my only experience, but it gave me an insight into the ocean, these creatures, the power, the size and the terrifying nature. was i right to feel scared? >> i think it's totally appropriate to be an guard because they are incredibly predatory fish, and there is a reason why we react to sharks. i think it's in our genes but i think what you said earlier is so true. sharks have far more to fear from us than we do them. if i was in the water with a large hammer head swimming about, i would be unnerved. to me what is amazing about these hammer head sharks is what you're looking at is this incredible design of evolution. basically thanks hammer of it's head is what it uses to pin down the target pray, which isn't a human being like us, it's a ray.

>> do they attack humans -- >> very rare. stingrays. >> what are the most predatory of the sharks? >> a number of species that are known to cross paths with people in a negative way. for example, we can see the teeth right here, this is from a bull shark. and this is certainly an animal that warrants a tremendous amount of respect. tiger sharks are another shark that we need to be careful about when they are around us in the water. but there are hundreds and hundreds -- >> and the great white. >> the great white is certainly a shark that warrants a tremendous amount of respect but there is not a great population of great whites and you have to be in such a particular situation to have an issue with great whites. >> the statistics on shark attacks in america are not alarmi alarming. the chances are 1 in 264 million and in the past decade, 11 fatalities. i was surprised how low. why is that? why are there not more attacks given there must be a lot of

sharks in the waters. >> what is amazing if you're off the coast of florida and in the water you're probably no less than 100 feet away from a shark. sharks are around us. there are hundreds and hundreds of species of sharks, nearly 400. only a hand full of those are ones that could potentially be dangerous to human beings. sharks are really designed to target the pray that is apart of their environment and human beings aren't part so there things they can do that we can do to avoid a problem. >> i think the biggest misconception is that they are just a hard-wired eating h1 machine. >> no disrespect, no attempt to die lute that but this bull shark jaw here, i was feeling the teeth. >> you could break your skin right now. >> absolutely raiser sharp. >> we could be seeing this -- a medic -- >> it would cut me open. >> you can see that behind it,

you can see that -- just that incredible, that sort of like crown of thorns of teeth as they emerge up. >> well-known shark myth. i want to get yes or no answers, true or false. sharks are man eaters? are they naturally man eaters? >> myth. very few sharks will target a human being and you have to be in the right situation, dark water, mirky water, a lot of chaos in that environment, maybe the breeding season -- >> would they eat human flesh? do they like it? >> well, i think like any predator, they will take advantage of the easy pray, and the sharks that we think of that would potentially target a mammal is the great white shark, and lots of times when that happens, it's a result of mistaken identity. there are examples -- for example a test bite where a shark will come up and take a test and realize, you know, this is something -- >> they don't like human flesh? >> no. >> sharks sink when they stop

swimming, is that true. >> some can sink when they stop swimming. they don't have a traditional bladder like your regular fishes do. instead, they rely on their liver and other parts of their body for floating. >> sharks have no bone sns. >> no bones. >> literally no bones? >> made out of cartilage. very ancient, an excellent groups of fishes. >> sharks cannot live in fresh water. >> that's not true. this shark right here can actually venture into fresh water for weeks, if not months. in fact, there are land locked sharks in parts of central america that actually survive and thrive in those lakes. >> all sharks can smell blood in the water from miles away, is that true? >> i don't know if that's true. they have an incredibly heightened sense of smell and taste and really an amazing way to connect with the electro

magnetic radiations and movements in the water, and they can pick out blood from a considerable distance but it depends on which species. we have sharks like this species right here. this is eating clams and oysters and creatures of that nature. >> kind of the movie scenes, where there is a load of blood in the water and you see the sharks descending on them. is that in reality how it works? >> you can get a frenzy. you can get a feeding frenzy and there are accounts of people that are ship wrecked from world war ii and war vessels were sunk, people were prayed on sharks. so, yes, in some situations, you need to protect yourself but there are things we can do in our lives to avoid sharks.

sharks are in so much more trouble than we are. >> do sharks eat each other? >> sharks can display some types of cannabslism. so you have great white sharks or this species. >> we have a mini shark. >> this is a spine knee shark, a shark you can see right here along the coast of new york. this is a shark that can grow 5 feet in length this creature began it's life in it's mother not as a free formed egg that was laid in a nest. it actually was attached to a yol k sack and the mother gave birth to it and maybe had four or five and as i said, with the great white sharks, these animals can have a number of babies in them, and they will actually, when they come into

the world after many months of this pregnancy, they will come out with battle scars and some sharks will not get a chance to get out. they are eaten in utero. >> how dangerous is that shark? >> this is one of the least dangerous species of sharks. it's a shark that loves the cold water. this is a shark that's actually a part of an incredible research project with the university of new england and maine. this shark actually has a pit tag on it that basically serves as a way that this shark can always be identified. and you know, this is not a shark we need to worry about. in fact, it needs management because in some parts of the world like europe and sop sime scientists worry. this is your fish and chips. >> you hear of rock salmon.

this is it here. >> this is quite tasty. >> don't tell him that. >> this is the fish you least want to be if there are sharks around. what is their favorite eating fish? >> well, i guess it depends on the species of shark. i don't know if i would want to be a sea turtle off the coast of florida. a tiger shark can grab on and shred that shell like sledded wheat. i wouldn't want to be a seal off the coast of south africa during feeding time for great whites. very -- actually, this guy here very famous shark. this shark has a bad reputation but it's totally not deserved. this is the make cow, a relative of the great white but primarily a fish eater and this around here would be eating blue fish. >> amazing array -- look at that. these are raiser.

>> razor sharp. >> let's take a break and come back and talk about sharps because everybody is fascinated with them, aren't they? >> absolutely. peoi go to angie's listt for all kinds of reasons. to gauge whether or not the projects will be done in a timely fashion and within budget. angie's list members can tell you which provider is the best in town. you'll find reviews on everything from home repair to healthcare. now that we're expecting, i like the fact i can go onto angie's list and look for pediatricians. the service providers that i've found on angie's list actually have blown me away. find out why more than two million members count on angie's list. angie's list -- reviews you can trust.

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sharks are fantastic creatures and in truth, we just began to uncover secrets. one thing we know for sure, sharks are important members of the ocean and they deserve our respect. >> terrifying when you see them in the water but sharks one of

the most misunderstood fish in the sea. the sharks have been around 400 million years. what is the point of them? why do we need sharks? >> well, it's an interesting question and it certainly is not the way a scientist would look at that question. we don't like a point to anything being here. you're here because you made it through the evolution narcotar y pathway. they are the number one dog in the food chain. when they disappear they become the canary in the coal mine that says we're not taking care of the ocean correctly. when we go to an echo system that had sharks and they vanished, there is something wrong. >> does climate change have any impact on the shark population? >> climate change certainly can have an impact on sharks. they are high licensetive cre t

highly sensitive. this spining dog fish needs cold waters. >> is the biggest threat to sharks and their future as with so many animals, humans? >> absolutely. human beings are driving many shark species, species that have been twisted and had sort of snaked away on this evolution narcoticry journey for hundreds of millions of years, human beings in short order are driving many to the brink of extinction. >> shark attacks, if your luck is out and you're attacked by a bull shark or tiger shark? what is their technique? what do they do to you? >> a bull shark, the attack begins long before the bite happens. he's moving through that water. he's trying to sense any changes in this environment he's so highly plugged into and he might cruise by and then when he

senses that moment of viability, he'll take these extensions, how sharp those teeth are. so basically, he'll grab on with those shark teeth. >> where would he grab a human? >> maybe by the leg, by the torso, by the front of the arm. >> does he clamp or rip. >> he'll hold very tightly, we're talking hundreds and hundreds of pounds of pressure per inch of jaw. he'll clamp down tightly and begin to shake. literally this will function like a chainsaw and saw through that flesh whacht is really amazing about sharks is even some of the smallest predatory sharks when they bite will typically take in about five pounds of flesh. so if you're in the bad end -- if you're at the business end of a bull shark, you got some trouble on your hands. >> we have a picture of somebody on -- yeah -- >> see, now you can see how a shark, a great white shark could look up and mistake that surfer

as a seal. the truth is, this happens all the time. i was just filming in hawaii for ocean mysteries and i was panicking looking at all these people below and what none of them, the thousands of people on the beach, what they don't see is the 12 foot long tiger shark going back and forth. >> and you could see it? >> you could see it. the shark had no interest. how many times are the people off the coast of south africa, california, surfing away and never have a negative encounter. this animal knows what it's targeting and rarely includes people. >> have you ever been scared? >> by a shark? i have been scared by a shark. we just finished this book called sharks that we did. we gathered tremendous footage of us working with sharks over the years and i remember being off south africa filming a great white shark, and i had this giant tank on my head that allowed me to talk and breathe and communicate with the camera, and i had too much co 2 so i was

losing my ability to breathe and as they tried to pull me out, a great white came up. so as i'm getting pulled out there is a great white reacting to the electrical fields of the engine motor and still, remind yourself that's one bloody powerful shark. >> what animal does the shark fear in the water? anything? >> probably a number of creatures there are other sharks that pray on sharks. there are large mammals like dolphins, marine mammals -- >> a shark would be scared of a dolphin? >> yes, they are incredible -- they have amazing defenses -- when dolphins feel threatened by sharks, they will plow at, you know, at torpedo speed into the side of that shark and actually kill it. >> really? >> yeah. >> but a bull shark isn't scared of anything. >> i've seen bull sharks that have been at the wrong end with a dolphin. >> a dolphin has beaten up a bull shark?

>> yeah, and orcas killer whales will send out -- when they have young vulnerable animals, little babies, they will have this sense here to defend that pod of animals. >> is the great white scared of anything? >> i think a great white may be afraid of other great whites. >> do they fight each other? >> they have been known to fight each other. i've seen -- females tend to be larger than males and i've seen males walk away missing half their fin from, you know, a female who wasn't feeling very sexy. >> fascinating stuff about sharks. when we come back, we dealt with jaws. i want to ask jeff to take on a stingray. let's get the sting out of the stingray. this little critter.

relative of the shark family, most people don't think of stingrays as dangerous and they may be a bigger threat. back with me is jeff corwin. this is a stingray tail. >> absolutely. >> this is big. >> this is -- >> pretty sharp. >> you can imagine this hitting you at, you know, 10, 15 miles per hour, that could do serious damage. >> this is where the sting comes. >> that is the weapon of death. this is the tool that this creature uses, the stingray -- again, close cousins of the sharks, it is this bash that penetrates the flesh of that

would be predator and it can deliver a pain like an unimaginable level of pain. i've been stung by a stingray in my ankle. >> talk me through what happened. >> we were filming and i was walking through the shallows and felt this electric lightning both of pain and i thought it was a sea snake. the guide there said in spanish, he said, you know, it hurts now but i guarantee you by tomorrow as you go through this great journey of pain from a stingray you'll be crying. the next day i was literally weeping in my bed with a doctor from san jose doing surgery and i was weeping on my daughter's teddy bear. you have to imagine a stingray that could be the size of this table weighing hundreds and hundreds of founds. for our tv series, georgia acare

yum is our partner and someway thousands of pounds. >> would they actively go after a human being? >> never, no. it's totally by accident. >> defense mechanism. >> it is. i can't think of a creature least aggressive than skates and stingrays. you literally have to be very aggressive yourself to find yourself being poked by one of these. >> could you die of a stingray sting? >> absolutely. absolutely. this -- if this were -- it's covered with bacteria. there are toxins that come from the sheathe produces venom. we know, unfortunately, that people have died from -- >> fact, steve erwin was pierced by a stingray and killed him. >> that animal has to be startled in such a way it has to react and swim away and makes contact with you, feels

threatens. the only way this works is it arches its tail where you come on to it. it is a last-ditch effort defense. >> why are they sometimes called witch's purse? >> the reason why they are called witch's purses is actually because of this. this is the witch's purse. this is the egg of a skate that we find off new england. we have this female skate right here. >> we got the engine running because you got a rather bigger creature. >> she's consuming a lot of oxygen so we keep it cold and oxygen. >> a skate is a mini stingray without the sting. >> they don't have a stinger. they have very sharp little spikes and thorns on the tip of the tail. this animal, again, from the university of new england from my colleague james and he works with these animals and you can see it is just so used to people. but basically, this is the egg. actually, piers, what is really cool, i thought we would have

something exciting. we thought this would hatch on television but hatched a half an hour before you came and this is actually -- >> little baby. >> this is the little baby that hatched out. she's brand new to the world. >> baby skate. >> and you can actually see the yolk sac right there. >> yeah. >> that's been keeping her alive and these animals have -- like sharks, these skates have such a complex life. >> that's the mother. >> this is the mother and this one is maybe a year old, this skate. these guys are so used to people they will literally come into your hand like that. >> skates aren't dangerous? >> they are not dangerous but again, this is an animal we need to manage. see, unlike fish, that can reproduce their whole life cycle in a year, this is an animal that in some cases with some spe sees of sharks and skates, they can't start reproducing until they are 20 years old. this egg, it could take two years to hatch out.

in fact, right here, if you look, what i want you to do is if you hold this -- not like that. if you hold that and look -- you can see -- >> looks like an embryo. >> amazing. >> and you can see the eyes and she is just -- this little -- >> how long could that take to hatch? >> if the water was warm less than a year. in some cases if the water is cold longer than a year. this shark that we just looked at that, that shark spent up to two years inside it's mother before it gave birth. >> amazing. >> so you can see if this gets eaten or this gets eaten when it's young you got a long journey before this creature is replace itself. that's the big challenge managing and replacing these creatures. let's take a break. we'll talk alligators when you come back. we'll bring out an alligator.

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this 500-pound reptile beast

is a few feet from tim's head and a little too close for comfort. >> there you go. >> all right. all right. >> one of the most feared reptiles in america, alligators and reptiles with a reputation for eating anything and everything. that's why jeff corwin is about to bring one out and stick it on the desk in front of me. >> in a few minutes he'll be inches from your head. >> how big is he? >> he's big but before that i want to bring you a teaser here. we figured part of your therapy would work you up to the big guy. >> a baby alligator. >> so just hold on very gently with both hands, both hands. there you go. so these are young alligators, under a year in age and basically, as these animals grow they become very, very large. what is amazing is they are one of the country's greatest conservation success series. they is a species pushed to near

brink of ex tintinction and now recovered -- >> how did that happen? >> they were over hunted. they dealt with habitat loss and also, the pet trade drove these animals to extinction. it wasn't until the endangered spe sees act they recovered. now the threat that all crocodiles face today is climate change because the eggs, how they hatch whether male or female is determined by temperature, depending on the species. so as our earth warms up, we are getting unusual skews of males versus females. all right. so we'll do a trade off here. you got him. >> don't drop him. >> hold him -- >> no, no, no, no. >> is this right here. this is a nile crocodile, and this is the greatest river predator in all of africa, a creature that krould grow 15, 16 feet in length. >> how old is this?

>> probably a couple years old. it was found walking down the streets of new jersey. >> seriously? >> yes, an animal rescued. >> how did it get there? >> an illegal pet and got tired of it and let it go. you can see a big difference you can see the way the jaw is structured, very different from alligators. so -- >> is it true they live in new york subways? >> it is not true. they did not live there. these animals are a creature that are tropical and subthrob kill and could not survive in unforgiving new york winter. >> at that size is it dangerous? >> it's not dangerous but it certainly could hurt you. if he bit you, it could hurt. i've done stories of people that have been eaten by crocodiles. >> that's a crocodile. the previous little one was alligator. i can't tell a difference. what is it? >> you can tell the way the snout is shaped. you can see the way the teeth line up completely different on a crocodile, the way the eyes

are and tails are. there is 20 different species -- >> what is more dangerous, alligator or crocodiles. >> i'll swim in alligator country if the risks are low but never in the nile river? >> why? >> because you risk a chance -- early buffet of a crocodile before the winder beast come. >> i think they are remarkable predators but speaking of predators, we'll take this guy back and bring out -- >> the big boy. >> the big boy. >> okay. this alligator has an incredible temperament, which is very unusual. >> does he have a name? let's personalize this? >> fred. fred was found living in a pond in new england. he was an illegal pet -- >> how many people keep them as pet sns. >> they don't make good pets. >> no kidding sherlock. >> they are a keystone species.

the environments are critical to keeping them healthy. they are often called landscape architects because when a big gator like this moves, he's creating open water. >> he looks kind of dinosaur-like. >> they do have a prehistoric look, and they have been on this earth for a long time, crocodiles have been on this planet for 60 million years but when you see something alive today like an american alligator, it's a very modern animal that's evolved to taking challenges of our world today. >> how long can they live? >> that's kind of a mystery. we don't know that. we know they continue to grow throughout their life. something neat about sharks and crocodiles, they have an amazing resistance to disease. when they are younger, they grow faster and as they get bigger and older they start to slow down, but this animal could live for many, many years, easily as long as a human being. >> he looks, fred, very calm but

they do until they kill you. >> if he had one bad day you need your belt for a tourniquet. >> what would he did? >> he would hunker down like a submarine to the water and most of his head would be covered and as you see, piers, he has this incredible camouflage that allows him to melt into the watery world and in fact, he even has his own version of like a snorkel. if i close his eyes and if you zoom in tight to the eye. watch as we open it up. you can see that lens come across. >> wow, yeah. >> it's called a membrane to protect his eyes. when he comes in, he uses powerful jaws to grab onto the pray. it could be a turtle, large mouth bass. >> the bull shark -- >> he'll grab on and shake and tear. >> what will this do? >> hold on very, very tight.

he'll take it and pull it down to a watery grave and once the animal expired they rip it apart. >> so they drown you first? >> they will drown you if they don't crush you first and twist and roll and as they twist and roll, segments of that animal being killed tear away. >> why are you so calm around something that could any moment turn predatory? i believe they can. >> i'm playing the lottery in a way, but i know -- >> but you're playing it with me at the moment. >> but if you notice, i do keep a safe distance. i'm keeping back. i know fred has a good temperament but i don't want to be there when he has that one bad day. that's something we need to remember. they are powerful predators built for surviving. >> let's take a break and no disrespect, fred, but i'd like to see the back of you quite quickly. when we come back i survived sharks, alligators, string ways, one thing left, snakes. there is a massive gigantic

python heading my way.

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when i thought this hour wouldn't get any more unnerving, a large python is about to appear. we're back with wildlife biologist jeff corwin. in that box like when they brought hannibal lector out of his cage. >> this snake, largest in captivity, a venus neck popping python. my chiropractor will love this. i would ask for help but i know i won't get it. >> no, no, no. >> you're the first one in the lifeboat, right? all right. where are you going? so this piers --

>> how big is it? >> 15 feet long. >> wow. >> weighs nearly a couple hundred pounds. >> massive, keep the head at your end. >> this was an illegal pet and confiscated and part of this educational program. >> where do people get these as pets? >> pet shops, online, and many states have laws prohibiting them, in their element where they live in the jungles of southeast asia perform an incredible purpose post but in the everglades of florida this is an invasive species eating our wildlife to extinction. >> what do they do in the jungle that is so positive? >> well, they are part of the living community. they are part of the echo system. a big female like this will produce 50, 60 eggs are consumed by other animals. when you begin your life as a python you're not this big -- >> how old is it?

>> probably five or six years old? >> does she have a name? >> i think they named it buddha. i did not name it buddha but i do believe that is her name. she still is growing. she could maybe reach 20, 25 feet in length, and have a girth of near telephone pole size. >> what does a python do? does it constrict you? is it as simple as that? >> literally squeezes it life out of it. it will tickle out the fork tongue and picks up the mo molecules in air. he's able to determine whether you're a potential mate or pray. and once he terms you're pray, let's say you're a small little rain forest antelope or monkey, he'll race out with raiser sharp teeth, latch on and coil around you. he's got incredibly strong muscles. let me show you something that's

neat. to show you how sensitive the muscles are, they will form around the finger. >> they are very, very powerful. >> these muscles here are powerful -- >> choking you to death. >> not choking. they get tighter as you kpral. >> could they hill a human? >> it's very possible that a large snake could kill a human. it is not their natural pray but people have been injured. >> why are you so comfortable around it? >> because i know his behavior. snakes -- i spend my life studying snakes. i did my graduate work on snakes. if this guy was upset and was being aggressive, we wouldn't be cavalier with this animal. >> what would it do to show disstressed? >> coil up, hissing, making disturbing behavior from hissing and noise and shikieking. when you get struck by a snake like this it has hundreds and hundreds of glass-like teeth and

can do damage. >> extraordinary animal. >> especially to think this is a creature that survives without legs, without ears, even without eyelids but perfect. something interesting about snakes like go -- at the back end of this just big -- i don't know what -- if i asked you if snakes have eyes, what would you say? >> i would say they don't. >> you can actually see a claw. what you're looking at is the revolutionary story of how snakes began. the ancestors of snakes, if you look right there where my finger is right there, that is a claw that tells us that it's likely they evolved from creatures that had legs. a lizard-type animal like a monitor lizard. >> what is the biggest creature this kind of python could eat if it was in the jungle? >> you know, in the amazon the anaconda, which is a large

these animals have been known to eat small livestock. they have been known to eat other reptiles. this animal can basically fit something about seven tiles as big as its head in its mouth. >> if we put fred and buddha on the table, who would win? >> it depends on who grabs on first and where. if a -- let's say this guy was in the southeast asian jungle and a crocodile grabbed it by the head, that would be a dead snake. but if a snake twisted around it, you would have a dead crocodilian. >> amazing animal. buddha, it's been a delight. we're going to bring out the largest toad in captivity. [ nurse ] i'm a hospice nurse.

britta olsen is my patient. i spend long hours with her checking her heart rate, administering her medication, and just making her comfortable.

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plus, get free delivery and sleep train's 100-day low price guarantee. you'll never find an interest rate lower than sleep train's interest-free for 3 event, on now! superior service, best selection, lowest price, guaranteed! ♪ sleep train ♪ your ticket to a better night's sleep ♪ back with my guest, jeff corwin. jeff, pythons, alligators, sting rays. now we're going to end the show with one of the biggest toads in captivity. >> absolutely. he's ready for his own jenny craig moment. he's ready to step on the scale. when you think of toads, here in the northeast, we have the little american toad.

but sometimes you get toads like this. >> oh, my gosh. he's huge. >> he's gigantic. this is the marine toad from south america. it's an amphibian. but around the word we're losing our amphibians. we will likely lose half of them halfway through the century. these are animals that have been on our planet for 350 million years. there is a chance this could be extinct some day. >> this constant thing with what do you call it, gut? >> that's his chin. he's actually pumping that back and forth and drawing air in through his nostrils and he's got a very wet vascular th

membrane. they also bring through their skin. the reason why they're in trouble today is because as they breathe through their skin, they can take toxins in their skip and be killed by this deadly fungus. >> of all the creatures you've found in the earth on the sea, what has been the most amazing moments for you? >> recently filming in new zealand, and actually coming face to face with a bird species that was extinct in the wild and they rediscovered it. it was a type of kiwi, and this was for the ocean mystery series. or being in the amazon jungle with the scientists and finding a species and rediscovering a link that could some day save that species. >> could the public around the world be doing a lot more to help conserve the great creatures of the ocean? >> absolutely, piers. ultimately we're the ones that pay the price. that's why i do this tv series,

to excite people and make them focused on being good stewards. i would ask you this, what do we lose when we lose amphibians? what do you think we would lose? that's my question? >> nothing. i think they should all be preserved. >> we lose medicine. a lot of the medicines we use in our lives, anaesthesia, anti-fungal agents, begin in amphibian skin. we lose keystone species and we lose the ultimate canary in the coal mine. it tells us we've got some serious managing to do. >> jeff, it's been fascinating. you do great work with these creatures and it's a great insight how they operate. "ocean mysteries" airs on abc nationwide. >> "sharks" is the new book.

it's the first interactive transmedia book on sharks. >> good to see you. thank you very much. >> i would shake your hand, but i have a toad in it. >> that's fine. thank you. that's all for us tonight. good night. good evening. we begin with breaking news. the signs keep growing that the country is on high alert here and around the world against the possibility of al qaeda attacks. the threat, credible and serious. three sources telling cnn that al qaeda in the arabian peninsula was in the final stages planning for an unspecified operation. the response so far, 21 embassies scheduled to close on sunday. the state department issuing a global alert for the month of august, to americans traveling abroad. airlines say they're monitoring developments. all of this coming after a message surfaced online, the al qaeda chief calling for attacks